Robin Pepper sued an Anchorage debt collection agency and its lawyers, claiming that they violated Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPA) when they: (1) sued Pepper in state district court without first sending a written demand, (2) misrepresented to the court that Pepper was competent, and (3) applied for default judgment without first informing Pepper’s attorney. ... More...   $0 (11-20-2009 - AK)

Plaintiff and appellant Robert Davis (Davis) appeals a judgment of dismissal following the sustaining without leave to amend of a demurrer interposed by defendant and appellant Ford Motor Credit Company LLC (Ford) to Davis‟s original complaint.

Ford also appeals, seeking review of a postjudgment order denying its motion for attorney fees.

This litigation relates to Ford‟s bil... More...   $0 (11-19-2009 - CA)

Plaintiffs and Appellants St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc. (SC) and Pacesetter, Inc. (Pacesetter) (collectively, St. Jude), along with employees Deana Dowell, Steven Chapman and Claudio Plaza, sued Defendant and Cross-appellant Biosense Webster, Inc. (Biosense) to enjoin it from enforcing noncompete and nonsolicitation clauses in employment agreements used in California, including agreements it had wit... More...   $0 (11-19-2009 - CA)

Medford School District 549C adopted a policy that prohibits its employees from possessing firearms on school district property or at school-sponsored events. Plaintiff, a school district employee who wishes to carry a handgun while teaching, initiated this declaratory judgment action challenging the lawfulness of that policy. The scope of that challenge is a narrow one: Plaintiff contends that... More...   $0 (11-18-2009 - OR)

Following a jury verdict, Frederick and Barbara Beaty appeal a judgment denying their medical negligence claims against the defendants, St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Dr. Desmond Young, Cardiovascular Consultants, P.A., and Dr. Martin Zink III. The Beatys contend the circuit court abused its discretion in: (1) allowing a treating physician to testify as a defense expert after the physician ... More...   $0 (11-17-2009 - MO)

This appeal involves a dispute over the modification of a law firm’s contingent-fee agreement. The main questions presented are whether the modified contingent-fee agreement is valid and whether the court erred in construing the disputed phrase — “further substantial litigationâ€� — to mean more than just in-court proceedings and filings. Because the modified fee agreement is valid and the... More...   $0 (11-13-2009 - AK)

In this diversity case governed by Kansas tort law, SFX Motor Sports, Inc.1 (“SFXâ€�), appeals the district court’s denial of its post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law (“JMOLâ€�). SFX argues that a reasonable jury could not have found SFX liable for wanton conduct based on its staging of an August 2003 motorcycle race in which Arthur Wagner, Jr. (“Wagnerâ€�), crashed and was se... More...   $0 (11-13-2009 - KS)

TexVa, Inc. (“TexVaâ€�) and R. Bradley Bierman (“Biermanâ€�) appeal the trial court's order granting the special appearances of Cindy Hayes (“Hayesâ€�) and James Boone (“Booneâ€�), both residents of California. Appellants contend that the trial court erred in sustaining the special appearances of Boone and Hayes. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that Hayes' and Boone's contact... More...   $0 (11-13-2009 - TX)

Plaintiff-Appellant Robert Norse was ejected from two meetings of the Santa Cruz City Council, one in 2002 and one in 2004. He filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against the City and its Mayor and Council members alleging violation of his First Amendment rights. In a 2004 unpublished, nonprecedential disposition, we unanimously upheld the validity of the Council rules that were being enforced at ... More...   $0 (11-07-2009 - CA)

When William Rodgers sold Lot 53-A in Ketchikan to Marvin and Arlene Lani Davis in 1984, he reserved an easement1 across that lot to access the adjacent lot, Lot 52, which he apparently had hoped to buy at a future date. But Rodgers never used the easement to access the adjacent property, and the Davises planted a garden covering most of the easement area and built a greenhouse within the easement... More...   $0 (11-06-2009 - AK)

Randal McCullough, a participant in a defined-benefit pension plan sponsored and administered by AEGON USA, Inc. (“AEGONâ€�), brought suit under section 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISAâ€�), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(2). He alleged that various plan fiduciaries breached their fiduciary duties to the plan and engaged in prohibited transactions in violation of ... More...   $0 (11-03-2009 - IA)

This is a consolidated appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeals in an attorney/ malpractice action and an insurance company/ bad faith action arising out of a workers compensation case. Both the successful litigant at the trial and appellate level, the Landrum 8, Shouse law firm, and the unsuccessful litigant, Kuhlman Electric Corporation, petitioned this Court for discretionary review. The ... More...   $0 (10-29-2009 - KY)

The parties to this Lanham Act suit are manufacturers of an oral laxative the chemical name of which is polyethylene glycol 3350. Schering, the plaintiff, sells its version under the trade name “MiraLAX.â€� MiraLAX is an over-the-counter drug. The four defendants sell the generic version of the drug under its chemical name (except that defendants Kremers and Schwarz also use the name “GlycoLax... More...   $0 (10-29-2009 - )

Julie Stephens Long’s employment with the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (“TRS�) came to an end on February 3, 2006.

While TRS maintains that it fired her for poor performance, Long believes that she was fired in retaliation for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLAâ€�). The district court granted summary judgment in favor of TRS, which L... More...   $0 (10-23-2009 - IL)

¶1 This appeal1 arises out of an insurance coverage dispute and insurance broker malpractice action. Plaintiff, Willbros USA, Inc. (Willbros), filed a Petition2 on July 27, 2007, against three defendants, Certain Underwriters at Lloyds of London (Lloyds),3 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. of Oklahoma, Inc. (Gallagher), and JLT Risk Solutions, Limited (JLT), after certain excess claims liability insuranc... More...   $0 (10-22-2009 - OK)

James W. Powell, Jr. (“plaintiffâ€�) appeals the 27 May 2008 order requiring him to execute a settlement agreement and quitclaim deed. Defendant City of Newton (“the cityâ€�), third-party defendant Shaver Wood Products, Inc. (“Shaverâ€�), and third-party defendant W.K. Dickson Engineering, Inc. (“Dicksonâ€�) (collectively “defendantsâ€�) appeal the 19 August 2008 order denying their moti... More...   $0 (10-20-2009 - NC)

Following a jury trial, defendants Jovon Broadcasting and Joseph Stroud, the owner and operational manager of Jovon Broadcasting, were found liable for retaliation against plaintiff Jerri Blount, a former employee of Jovon Broadcasting. The jury awarded Blount a total of $3,082,350 in damages, which was comprised of $257,350 for back pay, $25,000 for physical and/or emotional pain and suffering, a... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - IL)

The court has adopted a construction of the Fair Labor Standard Act’s anti-retaliation provision that is unique among the circuits. On the one hand, the court understands the statute’s “filed any complaintâ€� language to cover intra-company complaints about unfair labor practices, but on the other it concludes that oral complaints fall outside the reach of the statute. Kasten v. Saint-Gobain... More...   $0 (10-16-2009 - WI)

In an oft-repeated statement from the Vietnam War, an unidentified American military officer reputedly said that “we had to destroy the village to save it.â€� That oxymoronic explanation may be apocryphal, but 1 the debt collection agency in this case offers up much the same logic to explain why it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: it was necessary to violate the Act in order to c... More...   $0 (10-14-2009 - GA)

In this diversity action, John Gates alleges that the presence of Sprint Spectrum’s telecommunications equipment on his property constitutes a trespass. The district court granted summary judgment to Sprint on the basis that the alleged injury took place prior to Mr. Gates’s acquisition of the property and that, absent an assignment, a cause of action for trespass belongs only to the property ... More...   $0 (10-14-2009 - ks)

¶1 The language of 60 O.S. Supp. 2003 §8371 provides that: the "sole and exclusive civil remedy at common law or otherwise" under the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act (Disclosure Act), 60 O.S. 2001 §831, et seq. "shall be an action for actual damages;" awards "shall not2 include the remedy of exemplary damages"; and the Disclosure Act "applies to, regulates and determines rights, d... More...   $0 (10-13-2009 - OK)

This appeal challenges the trial court's grant of summary judgment which found privi-leged a restaurant employee's statements to a passerby and a police officer that a customer had "pulled a gun" inside the store. The plaintiffs, Sanford Kelsey and Thomas Williams, respective-ly, the suspected gun carrier and his companion (neither of whom actually had a gun), sued the restaurant operator, Papa Jo... More...   $0 (10-13-2009 - IN)

USCOC of Greater Missouri commenced this action against the City of Ferguson, alleging that the City violated its rights under the Telecommunications Act (TCA), 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7), by failing to act on its applications for zoning variances and a special use permit within a reasonable period of time and by denying them without substantial evidence in a written record. The district court1 grante... More...   $0 (10-09-2009 - MO)

Six members of a joint venture sued two other members, primarily claiming breaches of fiduciary duties. The joint venture, most of whose members were Anchorage physicians, owned a medical services condominium on Laurel Street and leased it out for use as an ambulatory surgical center. The plaintiffs claimed in part that the joint venturer defendants and others were liable for moving the surgical c... More...   $0 (10-08-2009 - AK)

The question presented by this appeal is whether the applicable statute of limitations for a claim filed in Maryland pursuant to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPAâ€�) is four years – based upon the federal “catch allâ€� limitation period set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a) – or three years – based upon the Maryland general civil limitation period set forth in Mar... More...   $0 (10-05-2009 - MD)